NEW YORK, Dec. 25 (Xinhua) -- Mary Horomanski's electric gadgets were working fine but it was her electric bill that gave the Pennsylvanian a shock. She was charged 284 billion U.S. dollars by Penelec, her electricity provider.

"My eyes just about popped out of my head," the 58-year-old told Erie Times-News, describing her shock when checking her bill online. "We had put up Christmas lights and I wondered if we had put them up wrong."

The bill had to be paid in full by November 2018 and the first payment for December 2017 was 28,156 dollars.

Her son quickly contacted Penelec -- and was told it was an error. The actual amount was 284.46 dollars.

The spokesman for the company said they were not quite sure what caused the error.

"I can't recall ever seeing a bill for billions of dollars," Penelec spokesperson Mark Durbin said. "We appreciate the customer's willingness to reach out to us about the mistake."

Horomanski has got over her scare now and can even make jokes about the incident. She told her son to give her a heart beat monitor as a Christmas present.